Iona is a mission to create a boarding school to preserve western civilization from the decline of modernity.
Document can be found here: http://iona.pkt.net/
This link will be updated to a website in the future.
As I've been writing this, I have been sharing a few excerpts. So now I'm tagging everyone who I THINK showed some interest in the idea. Apologies in advance for whatever mistakes I inevitably made.
At the bottom of the document is an email address, email me there if you want to be involved, or just to be put on a list to learn about updates.
CC: @Java
@pepsi_man
@sj_zero
@KingOfWhiteAmerica
@andetritus
@DC5FAN
@patris
@RichardKuklinskisIcyGlare
@dcc
@oneBasedBrother
@Bernard
@Revertron
@threalist
@harblinger
@nomebullyyou
@na
The actual file is on https here: https://cjd.pkt.wiki/iona/IONA_v1.0_2025_OCT_13.pdf
But keep the link http://iona.pkt.net because I will be updating that Later™
@cjd @dcc @andetritus @Java @Bernard @nomebullyyou @na @RichardKuklinskisIcyGlare @DC5FAN @KingOfWhiteAmerica @patris @pepsi_man @sj_zero @threalist @harblinger @oneBasedBrother @Revertron Have you researched the legal implications of this? I don't know much about the regulation of private education, but I think the male hierarchy might not go well in some places, not to mention the whole transgender issue.
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Everyone gets a school assigned girlfriend/wife (Page 4)?
Looks like you solved the Chris-chan/incel problem.
I don't want to have to pander to the elite. They want to raise a kid who is 1st class on the rowing team but can't change a tire, there are thousands of elite schools that will do that for them.
> it is required that they are enough of a cultural fit that they would achieve long term success as a husband/wife for any of the girls/boys in the school.
Addressing it this way firstly does a lot to mitigate the potentially thorny civil rights law issue. But it also avoids the need to create some kind of formal definition of whiteness - which is also a somewhat contentious issue (if you ask Amerika, White = WASP only).
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Also
>Electronic devices are strictly controlled, with portable devices like phones and laptops
forbidden on campus. Software development and internet usage is taught, but the use of
the internet for leisure is forbidden.
You need to explain how to control student's Internet usage. My suggestion would be to have all computers run a custom GNU+Linux distro or Gentoo installation with a heavily locked-down DE and a whitelist of websites. It would be harder and pointless to crack security if the OS doesn't offer much in the first place.
This will need to be addressed in more detail, but my instinct is: Desktop computers only, and they are in a public location where other people can see your screen.
Using a linux distro just makes rational sense.
Remember, the Amish have a very basic curriculum and really the only things they really excel at are building bonds with each other and developing self-discipline.
But then I think the place to look is toward interested parents, some rogue school teachers (I had a few like that), and some retirees who would like to give back to the community.
After 20 years, we can just hire our own graduates.
Taking a kid in at 8 and keeping them until 18 it is very possible to build strong cohesion and discipline both.
I don't see any reason why after 25 years there wouldn't be an entire community of alumni around the area where the school is built, who would be at least half as cohesive as the Amish, and without such self-imposed restrictions on labor-saving technology.
I agree homeschool parents are a great resource.
@cjd reposting this without having the time to read it so I can later
> To estimate the effectiveness of current era educational protocols, we might look to the Amish. The Amish have maintained largely the same simplistic educational strategy over the past 300 years - and yet still have surprisingly good outcomes to show for it. The fact that classical western education does not reliably produce better outcomes than that of the Amish is strong evidence that current curricular design is in fact ineffective and needs to be re-thought.
> If we are to take a formal approach, we may consider curriculum to be a form of investment, thus allowing us to use Decision Theory to model the value of skills which we may aim to build. In a Venture Capital firm, the goal is to achieve success in each of the startups they invest in, both individually and as a group.
> we might look to the Amish
Just don't forget about genetic problems in Amish population:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_among_the_Amish
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So the fact that their system STILL WORKS, and beats outcomes of a lot of western educated individuals is fabulously impressive.
@cjd But all that is looking like Northern Korea, don't you think?
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Trying to estimate happiness in a group of people that you are not part of is very difficult. Of course those who quit being Amish will tell you it is hell on earth, but people who quit *any* group will say the same.
> Suicide rates for the Amish of Lancaster County were 5.5 per 100,000 in 1980, about half that of the general population.
There is ONE data point, and you can of course make up 10 reasons why it is irrelevant. But one data point is infinitely more information than an unbacked narrative.
@cjd I am talking about level of freedoms. What they are in Amish society and what will be in your sect?
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It seems to me that there's something bothering you about the Amish and you're searching for the words to describe it.
It's hard to measure "Freedom" in other people, because an interdiction against doing something that you don't want to is not meaningful. As an example, I live in France - and here there are fairly strict regulations on food additives. But I don't feel any less free because it's not my goal in life to make food with additives, in fact I feel a fair bit MORE free, because I don't worry as much about accidentally buying low quality at the store.
TL;DR freedom is a cultural phenomenon
Freedom is what makes you feel free, that's it.
If you have a burning need to murder people, murder laws impact your experience of freedom. If you don't, they don't.
From this we can draw some fun conclusions: For example, I can postulate that highway speed traps are more harmful to freedom than sodomy laws. Why? Because MOST people don't want to do sodomy, but most people do want to use the highway, and going a little over the speed limit is something that naturally happens when you're not paying close attention to your speed. So when you use the highway, speed limits and speed traps make you feel un-free, which makes you un-free.
@cjd
No, it's not about Amish particularly.
And I've jumped to freedom because it is one of three greatest values (by Revertron): Freedom, Intellect and Life.
And I'm not talking about food, but for example about what profession to learn. It seems to me (I didn't read the PDF yet) that if some child in your "community" will want to do plumbing you will insist on carpentry or vice versa.
Or am I mistaken?
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@cjd But those, who feel the urge to burn people are feeling that laws are making them un-free :))
Breaks apart :(
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Okay, mine are meaning, belonging, and self-actualization, so there's going to be differences of values between you and I. You probably wouldn't want to go to that school.
> if some child in your "community" will want to do plumbing you will insist on carpentry
Okay so I don't want to get your hopes up, because if you're reading this with freedom as a foundational value, you're going to say "There It Is". But the answer is not really, but the reason is not because of freedom but rather because of uncertainty and differences between people.
We don't KNOW who is going to make the best plumber, and who is going to make the best carpenter. But by allowing a certain amount of autonomy in matters where we are most uncertain, we can learn from the kids themselves.
So for example if we know that a kid is not going to be a fit for X we're not going to invite him there, but because we don't know where a kid is going to fit, we give him options and allow a discovery process to unfold.
Therefore it's very hard to look at somebody in the world and know how free they are.
@cjd
I just want you to hold the question of freedom in mind when you design such thing.
Because if you don't you will end up with another Soviet Union, where everyone is working hard on building a "bright future" like communism, but really everyone feels miserable.
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I believe every kid should be able to tie a tie, sit at a dinner party, but also hang out at a sports bar or on a construction site, and not be awkward in any of those circumstances.
So for example if you're kind of eccentric/nerdy and that harms your ability to communicate, you might consider sending your kid because the goal is that they'll be able to build rapport with people in all walks of society...
@cjd
So, socialization skills? They should be teached without using devices:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FuaPalNmjg
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Guys in cc, are you interested in this thread? :)
@cjd BTW, this video would be beneficial for you, very recommended to watch :)
They are talking also about a school in USA where all reach people send their kids to learn.
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@cjd
Yep, this: What Social Media Did To Gen-Z, with Jonathan Haidt
it is long, but worth it.
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